I was so enthused with the potential of the beading process that I quickly began a project I had in mind for several weeks. The idea for an art quilt came as I read an old Persian proverb, "When it is dark, you can see the stars," in the pages of a report from Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson's Central Asia Institute. I immediately made a note of the quote for a future piece.
As I began to see the potential of beading for creating a star-filled sky, I immediately starting using some dyed fabric I had gotten from Lisa a few months ago to quickly construct a background. Then, I built upon an idea for thread painting a tree from a blog, Anne's Creative Threads. Anne has created the most amazing series of African sunsets and details her process in her blog. I decided to try a similar thread painting approach using a tree I had photographed on a recent trip to Maui as a model for a silhouette. Everything flowed beautifully and, after some quick quilting, I am now ready to add some stars, using my beading technique.
You will have to wait a bit more to see the finished piece!
Judy this is a really nice start. I like the depth created with the shadings in the fabric and the balance you have created with the off set tree. I will be watching to see where you take this.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janice. I hope to post more next week. I agree that the hand dyed fabric really adds to the scene.
ReplyDeleteJudy, this is a lovely piece -- and I am fascinated by the tree, silhouetted so beautifully. You are right about the perfect use of hand-dyed fabric. I am learning to dye my own right now in my City & Guilds program; it's a process that both surprises and delights. Also thanks for the link to Anne's blog -- she does stunning work, and makes it look easy!
ReplyDeleteI like the feel of energy in the piece already, look forward to more. I recently listened to the audio version of Greg Mortenson's book...an amazing person! The quote is lovely.
ReplyDeleteThanks Margaret and Linda, as always. This is an adventure. Margaret, I am going to start dyeing more in the spring. I can feel it coming. And, Linda, you are right. I have a lot of energy flowing on this piece. Hope it will carry on to some other ideas I have come up with!
ReplyDeleteJudy I am pleased that I came over to your blog to see the start of your Tree Quilt. I agree with everyone the fabrics are perfect. Look forward to seeing more
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joy. I should have the finished piece up on my blog by tomorrow.
ReplyDelete